America's Army, the official U.S. Army game, is an online video game that has registered about 4.7 million users. (See my earlier article America's Army And The Last Starfighter for additional details.)

The arcade game version will include ht training mini-games that intend to bring highly authentic Army training exercises to players, along with a drill sergeant to ‘bring out the best in each player’.

Working hand-in-hand with U.S. Army Subject Matter Experts and with the full cooperation of units of the U.S. Army, the coin-operated AMERICA’S ARMY is a realistic and engaging game centered on exciting training exercises, and includes a significant amount of authentic Army videos and other information designed to immerse the player in the Army culture.

“AMERICA’S ARMY is an arcade style training game based on actual Army training exercises designed to challenge Soldiers to hone their skills. Players are rewarded for teamwork, proper use of the Rules of Engagement, accuracy, and target identification,” says Mike Kruse, GLOBAL VR Producer. “The game’s many marksmanship exercises are entirely target shooting challenges which makes this unique product appropriate for many location types that do not desire simulated combat games.” Mike went on to comment, “Being a veteran myself, I can honestly report that AMERICA’S ARMY is a highly authentic depiction of Army training exercises and the Army’s unique organizational culture…down to the drill sergeant who is constantly by your side to bring out the best performance from each player.”

In the excellent 1984 sci-fi movie The Last Starfighter, a video game is used to train and identify potential star pilots - for real.